David A. Farrell [PG, PhD, MSc, BSc]

Dr. Farrell became the Principal of CIMH on May 1, 2006. Dr. Farrell brought approximately 15 years of experience working in various areas of Hydrogeology and approximately 8 years of experience working in various areas of Applied Geophysics. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Farrell is involved in various Caribbean and international scientific projects related to Hydrogeology, hydrology and geophysics. Dr. Farrell also sits on a number of Technical Advisory Committees for regional disaster management and climate change projects. He is also one of the technical specialists supporting the Government of Barbados' review of the safety of the Arch Cot and greater Brittons Hill areas following the cave collapse and related deaths at Arch Cot, St. Michael, Barbados. Dr. Farrell is the WMO Hydrological Advisor to the British Caribbean Territories.

Prior to joining CIMH, Dr. Farrell was employed as a Senior Research Scientist with the Geosciences and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Post and Responsibilities: Planning, organizing, coordinating, and management of the organization’s research and technical activities.

Additional activities include: Conducting independent research and development designed to meet the needs of the Caribbean region.

Current and Recent Research and Development Activities:

Impacts of climate change on energy demand in the Caribbean with an initial investigation of the influence of season climate variability on energy demand on Barbados (joint with Kim Whitehall)

Estimating missing data in rainfall time series using analytical neural networks (joint with Karl Payne)

Development of an advanced flood forecasting framework for CARICOM Member States (joint with Shawn Boyce and Kim Whitehall)

Development of a geological model for southern St. Catherines, Jamaica using time domain electrical resistivity data (joint with Hugh Atherley, UWI)

Assessment of the impacts of karst sinkholes and dry wells (suck wells) on the quality of groundwater on Barbados (funded by OAS/FEMCIDI)

Enhancing Resilience to Reduce Vulnerability in the Caribbean: Strengthening civil protection mechanisms through capacity development for early warning systems, information dissemination, institutional coordination for disaster management and response in CARICOM Member States (joint with CIMA Foundation, UNDP Barbados and CDERA)

Carib-HYCOS (joint with IRD France and the Caribbean Meteorological Organization)

Member of Expert Panel assessing of the geological stability of Arch Cot Terrace and greater Brittons Hill, St. Michael, Barbados (funded by the Government of Barbados; joint with S.B. Testing, AEC Engineering Group and Hydro Terra)

Assessment of rainfall data for the Caribbean region to support the development of flood risk insurance for CARICOM Member States (funded by Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility; joint with Shawn Boyce)

Establishment of regional building standards in the Caribbean: Development of intensity duration frequency (IDF) curves for CARICOM Member States (implementing agency CROSQ; joint with HR Wallingford, UK; collaboration with Shawn Boyce)

Geophysical investigations at two construction sites at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

Geophysical investigations to supporting siting of a weather radar tower on Barbados (funded by the Caribbean Meteorological Organization)

Committees:

CARICOM Task Force on Climate Change and Development

CIMH representative on Consortium of CARICOM Institutions tasked with

assisting Member States in coordinated consultation with national, regional and international partners in the formulation of IWRM and Water Use Efficiency Plans and:

Performed independent research to support characterization of the hydrogeologic system in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain , Nevada . This work was performed to support the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review of the impending US Department of Energy’s (DOE) licence application to operate a high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain .

Recently appointed Principal Investigator on a team studying the effects of future repository heating on the movement of water in and around repository drifts. The quantity and chemistry of groundwater entering drifts can accelerate the degradation of engineered barriers at the repository. The annual budget for the project is approximately USD $800,000.

Responsibilities include:

Performing independent research on the thermal hydrology of the repository site

Coordinating the research activities of the group

Preparing the annual Operations Plan for the group

Communicating the activities of the group and related items of interest (including DOE activities) to senior management and the client

Member of a team conducting research to better characterize the movement of groundwater flow in the saturated zone in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain , Nevada . The saturated groundwater flow system is one potential pathway along which radio nuclides breaching the engineered barrier system at the repository may reach the accessible environment.

Achievements include:

Coordinated the development of a hydro-geophysical program to support characterization of the geology and hydrology along the projected groundwater flow path. Results of this characterization activity will lead to improved predictions of the (i) groundwater flow path from the site and (ii) radionuclide transport times. Both are important for assessing the performance of the repository.

Experience: (Cont'd)

Principal Scientific Investigator for the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP), West Valley , New York .

Responsibilities included:

Advising US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff on technical and regulatory issues related to the US Department of Energy (DOE) strategy for decommissioning site.

Conducting technical analyses at the site on behalf of NR

Achievements include:

Development of an easy to use geographic information system for the site that fully integrates the guidance contained under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other supplemental guidance recommended by NRC

Lead the development of a high-resolution digital elevation model for West Valley , New York that will be used to assess long-term erosion at the site

Reviewed portions of the DOE decommissioning performance assessment for the site and identified several important technical deficiencies in the approach proposed

Developed technical proposals that were funded by the NRC (approximately $250,000 from 1999 through 2001)

Principal Scientific Investigator on a project to develop strategies and methodologies to support long-term sustainable management of coastal karst aquifer systems in the Caribbean . Project participants include the Water Resources Authority of Jamaica, the Barbados Water Authority, the Antigua Public Utilities Authority, the University of the West Indies , and the Barbados Ministry of the Environment. This project supports institutional strengthening of regional water management authorities and is being funded over three years (approximately USD $400,000) by the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development, Organization of American States (OAS).

Responsibilities include:

Developing and planning the scientific and engineering approaches necessary to achieve the project objectives

Developing technical reports documenting the progress of the project

Interacting with tertiary institutions and water management organizations to assess their technical capacity for implementing the methodologies and strategies developed under the project

Developing water management training programs to support building institutional capacity in the Caribbean

Achievements include:

Developed the framework and initial draft proposal for the project

Primary author and coauthor of several presentations and publication documenting the technical accomplishments of the project

Developed the framework and proposal for an international groundwater symposium held during May 2003 in Barbados

Helped secured the placement of three individuals to tertiary institutions as part of the institutional strengthening component of the project

Developed a prototype mobile GIS application for the pocket pc computing environment that supports real-time groundwater well data collection and decision-making. System is being considered for deployment by water utilities involved in the project

Coordinated an international groundwater symposium that was held in Barbados in 2003 designed to foster hydrology research collaborations between the Caribbean region and the international community.

Experience: (Cont'd)

Principal Scientific Investigator and Project Manager for a Southwest Research Institute internal research and development project designed to improve subsurface imaging using non-invasive geophysical methods. Project funding was approximately $150,000. Methodology developed has the potential to delineate subsurface contamination.

Responsibilities included:

Developing and planning the scientific and engineering approaches necessary to achieve the project objectives

Principal Scientific Investigator on a project to support mapping groundwater quality in the New Forest/Duff House region of southern Jamaica. This project used a suite of geophysical techniques to map hydrogeologic features at the project site including depth to water (determined to be over 100 m deep) and water quality. The results of this project supported the National Irrigation Commission of Jamaica in its design and implementation of an irrigation system for the project area. Funding for this component of the project was approximately USD 40,000.

Responsibilities include:

Negotiating the contract between Southwest Research Institute and the National Irrigation Commission of Jamaica

Project planning and reporting

Managing the data collection phase of the project

Data analysis and interpretation

Member of a committee developed as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between US Federal Agencies to develop standards and frameworks for environmental assessment software used by these agencies.Responsibilities included:

Meeting with other committee members to identify standards and frameworks

Reporting on the progress of the committee to senior management and the NRC

UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA

Graduate Research Assistant (Professional)

01/90 to 09/97

Provided technical support to the Province of Manitoba on a groundwater development project in a rural farming community. Developed a model to simulate groundwater flow in an aquifer system. Model supports development of a groundwater management policy for the aquifer system.

Provided technical support to staff on a project to support groundwater development in Morocco . Helped in the development, and calibration of a model to support groundwater flow in the aquifer system. Model was to be used in the development of a long-term groundwater management strategy.

Graduate Research Assistant (Academic)

01/90 to 05/97

Performed graduate level research on the effects of transient groundwater flow on contaminant transport in aquifer systems. MSc and PhD degrees achieved for this area of research. In addition, several research articles were published on this work.

Assistant Lecturer

1994 and 1997

Taught courses in contaminant hydrology to undergraduate engineering students. Developed the course outline and lecture materials. Developed and graded the exams. Received high marks from the students taking the course.

Professional Development:

SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE, SAN ANTONIO, USA

Project Management (internal course) 2000

Communicating Risk 2000

(Dr. V. Covello)

(School of Pub. Health)

(Columbia University, NY)

US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

HYDRUS Training (hydrology software) 2002

Memberships:

Member of the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientist (Geophysics)

Member of the International Association of Hydrologist (2004)

Member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), 1993 - 2001

Member of the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA) (1993)

Member of the Barbados Environmental Association (BEA.) (1993)

Member of the West Indian Students Association (Univ. Of Manitoba) Coordinated a Caribbean Book Exhibition in 1993 (over 2000 books displayed)

Member of the Barbados Association of Winnipeg (1992 - 1998)

Additional Activities:

Member of the organizing committee for the 2003 Regional Hydrogeological Symposium held in Barbados (May, 2003)

Member of the organizing committee for the HYDRUS Groundwater Modeling Workshop planned for June, 2004 in Barbados

Farrell, D. A.Water Resources in the Caribbean. Adapting to Climate Change in the Caribbean (ACCC) Project and Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) Project in Association with the University of the West Indies Centre for Environment and Development (UWICED): Climate Change and Water Workshop, the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, Jamaica, March 4-5, 2004.

Farrell, D. A., B.L. Mayers, L. Moseley, J. Mwansa, and R.T. Green. Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Groundwater Management System for Karsts Aquifers. Presented at the Kick-Off Meeting in Barbados for the Caribbean Salinity Project Funded by the Organization of American States. June, 2002.